The Traveler's Tales
by Kimblee Whitehead
Summary: Gem magic is a curious thing. While it is beautiful, it is also deadly. Rose Quartz lives a nomadic life, traveling the world, helping those ailed by gem magic, trying to prevent other from suffering her fate. Unfortunately, history tends to repeat itself. An Origin Story.
1. Chapter 1: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty

**The Traveler's Tales  
**

**Chapter 1: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty**

* * *

The smell of sea salt filled the village air. It was a cloudy day in the small ocean town. Throughout the area, the villagers were preparing themselves for the oncoming storm. It wasn't anything new. There were lots of storms this time of year. The people of the village had learned to adapt to such weather. As long as nobody did anything out of the ordinary, all would be alright.

However, there was something out of the ordinary. On this day, there was a traveler in their small fishing town. Travelers were nothing new, of course. They were a relatively well known fishing village, and they made a living off of selling their fish to visiting merchants.

What made this woman notable was her hair. She had long, curly hair, almost like a lion's mane. What was particularly noteworthy, however, was her hair's color. It was as pink as the brightest sunset. Everyone in the village could be caught stealing a glance her way. The woman went on with her business, completely unfazed by the villager's aw.

She made her way down the market, looking around the village. Despite the short time she had been there, the villagers had already started to gossip about her presence.

"Maybe she's a mermaid!"

"No, her hair is pink! That's the sign of a changeling, you know."

The woman could only smile, as she heard bit's and pieces of the villager's theories. They were right about one thing.

She wasn't human.

As she walked, there was a particular villager who caught her eye. There was a small girl, who looked to be around seven or eight, sitting on the side of the street. What caught the traveler's eyes, was the basket of flowers that sat in her lap. With a smile, the traveler approached the girl.

"Are you selling flowers?" the Traveler asked. The girl jumped, startled that this stranger was talking to her.

"Oh...yeah," the girl said. The pink haired woman laughed, picking a flower out of the basket.

"This rose is lovely...roses are my favorite flower, you know. How much for one?"

The girl's eyes were wide. Business was clearly not her strong suit.

"Um...two," she said. She didn't even specify the type of currency she wanted. The Traveler laughed, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out seven coins.

"I think this will be enough," she said, placing the money at the girl's side. The girl stared at the money, it was clearly more then she had seen in a long time, "However...I do require one more thing. You see, I happen to be a bit lost. Would you perhaps be able to give me directions?"

The girl quickly nodded, eager to do what it took to keep her small profit. The Traveler smiled.

"I'm looking for a the Marcel household. Where would I be able to find them?"

* * *

Robert and Cecelia Marcel had lived a happy life. They had been close friends since childhood, and married the moment they were old enough. They were convinced that nothing would come between them.

Then Cecelia became gravely ill. It was a peculiar illness. One day, Cecelia didn't wake up. She wasn't dead. Her breathing was just find, and she looked to be peacefully asleep. However, no matter how hard Robert tried, he could not get her to awake from her slumber.

After three days of sleeping, Robert contacted a doctor. The doctor tried everything he could, but in the end, he couldn't find the source of the slumber. The days went by, and still, Cecelia Marcel continued to slumber. But Robert Marcel was a determined man. He contacted every doctor he knew of, whether they lived near or far, hoping that one of them would be able to save her. However, none of them knew how to help her. They had never even seen anything like it. It seemed like nothing would save her.

Then, Robert heard of a woman who specialized in rare cases like this. He reached out to her in desperation, hoping she would be able to provide some insight.

She was truly their last hope.

There was a knock at the door. Robert quickly answered it. The pink haired Traveler stood outside.

"Is this the Marcel household?" she asked. Robert quickly nodded.

"Yes...are you Rose?"

The woman nodded, and walked inside.

* * *

The pink haired woman sat down next to Cecelia, leaning over her sleeping body. Her breathing was slow and steady, just like if she was asleep. She looked at Cecelia's eyelids. They were still. That was odd, she thought. Normally when someone is in a deep sleep, their eyelids while flutter while they slumber. But hers did not. It confirmed her suspicions that this wasn't a normal case.

"How long as she been asleep?" Quartz asked. Robert solemnly glanced at his slumbering wife.

"Seven weeks."

"Hmm..." she mused, processing over the information, "And yet, she looks perfectly fine."

This was quite the interesting case, she thought. Someone who was asleep that long should have been wasted away. Their body should have given out from a lack of nutrition. Yet, this woman didn't look withered in the slightest.

Rose gently placed her hand onto the woman's forehead. She felt as cold as ice. Rose jerked her hand back. That wasn't what she was expecting. Human's weren't supposed to become that cold. On top of that, it was the middle of summer. There was nothing that would cause the woman to be that cold. Rose lowered her hand to the woman's mouth, and felt her breath. It felt like a cold wind. But there was something else.

She felt a sensation, almost like a tingling in her hand. It was a very familiar sensation.

It was gem magic. A look of determination crossed her face. Her suspicions were confirmed. A gem was causing this.

"Mr. Marcel...did anything unusual happen before your wife became ill?"

The man shook his head, "No...I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she reassured him, "Maybe it's something you didn't realize was out of the ordinary at the time."

Robert began to think. He clenched his fists, beginning to become frustrated with himself, "The only thing out of the ordinary was her birthday."

Rose nodded, "What happened on her birthday?"

Robert shrugged, "Nothing really. Except...I was walking on the beach, and I found this jewel..."

"What kind of jewel?" Rose interrupted. Robert reached to his wife, gently untucking a necklace from her shirt. Hanging from a string, there was a small white crystal.

"It was so beautiful...I can't afford to buy her beautiful things, but I love her so much. I wanted to give her something special."

Rose nodded. She found the culprit. She gently lowered herself towards the gem, and blew on it. The breath around it froze. Rose smiled, as she realized what happened.

Cecelia Marcel was frozen.

"I know how to cure your wife."

Robert Marcel's face lit up at the news. Rose nodded, and gently lifted up the necklace. She needed to do this quick. If she held it for too long, it could possibly give her frostbite. She yanked it from Cecelia, removing it from her neck.

It was then that Rose's stomach started to glow. She dropped the necklace to the floor. The jewel started to twitch, and all of a sudden, it grew six legs out of it's body. It started to scurry back towards Cecelia. Robert Marcel let out a scream.

"What is that thing?" He shrieked. Rose smiled.

"Just a pest," she said. It was then that her stomach started to glow, "It appears to have taken a liking to your wife." She raised her hand, where a pink shield materialized, "But as I said...it's just a pest."

In a solid move, she slammed the shield against the gem. A small cloud of ice puffed around it, and it fell to the ground. Rose picked up the gem. A pink bubbled formed around it.

Robert Marcel was speechless.

"Your wife should recover now," she said, pocketing the gem, "Gently give her a cup of water tea every morning, and every night. She should wake up in a couple of days."

As she was talking to the man, she glanced out the window. It was there that she saw the little girl from earlier, watching from outside.

* * *

Rose walked outside of the building. Robert Marcel had offered to house her for the night, but she declined. He would have enough on his hands, taking care of his recovering wife. Besides, she had other places she was needed.

She approached the little girl.

"How much of that did you see?" she asked her.

"All of it," the girl replied, "That was incredible."

Rose nodded. Most people weren't as enchanted with her work. They were usually frightened or disturbed. Then again, gem magic could be horrifying. It had caused countless of deaths among humans who didn't know to be cautious.

"Incredible isn't the best work," Rose told the girl, "They cause nothing but problems."

"But they're so pretty!" The girl exclaimed, "Are gems the reason your belly glowed?" Rose nodded at her question. The girl laughed, "I want a glowing belly...or hands! Glowing hands would be wonderful."

Rose sighed, "What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Gardelle."

"Well, Gardelle, if you want to live a long and happy life, you'll stay away from gems, okay?"

The girl nodded reluctantly, "Okay..."

And with that, Rose began to walk away. Little did she know was that Gardelle wouldn't stay away from gems. In fact, her fascination with them would grow into a curiosity that would cause her to cross paths with Rose again.

Although that is a story for another day.

* * *

_Hey guys. So, this is something I wrote a while ago, and I recently re-looked at it in my computer. I decided to post it, see what you guys think. Basically, it's a gem origin story. I'm curious what you guys think of this chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2: The Tale of The Last Festival

**The Traveler's Tales  
**

**Chapter 2: The Tale of The Last Flower Festival**

* * *

The village of Liore wasn't the biggest of of places. It lay deep in the country's valleys, and was surrounded by fields of wild grasses. In the spring, those fields were decorated with hundreds of wildflowers. No matter where she traveled, Rose Quartz always tried to visit this village around this time of year. She had a soft spot for it.

The smell of something sweet surrounded her as she entered the village.

"Honeybread..." she said, and a large smile crossed her face. Had she really timed her visit so perfectly?

Every year, the village would have its Festival of Flowers, where Honeybread would be its staple.

Rose laughed, as she continued her way into the village. She couldn't wait for the festivities to start.

Little did she know, as she walked, somebody was watching her.

* * *

As soon as the sun set, the festival started. Everyone in the village came out to the village square, dressed in their finest clothing. Braids of flowers were weaved around the buildings, and the square was illuminated by multitudes of colorful lanterns.

Rose stood in the middle of a crowd, where two acrobats were performing tricks. They ran across the space, jumping and tumbling around each other. The crowd was laughing and cheering. Rose quietly watched the show, enjoying her honeybread.

The acrobats finished their performance, and bowed for the crowd. Rose cheered for the performers. Even though humans did not possess magic, they could do some amazing things. There were many times where Rose would be envious of them.

Suddenly, she felt someone bump into her left shoulder, causing her to drop her honeybread.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking to see who ran into her. Standing next to her was a young woman, looking to be in her late teens. There was a coy smile on the girl's face.

"My apologies," the girl said. It was then that Rose noticed that the girl was holding a basket of flowers, "Maybe this will make up for it?" The girl pulled a pink rose out of the basket. Rose smiled at the girl, and took the flower. She gently smelled it.

"Thank you," she said, "Rose's have always been my favorite."

"I know," the girl said, her smile widening. Rose glanced at her with a confused expression. How could this girl know that information? Had they crossed paths before? Before she could question the girl, the acrobats began to talk.

"We challenge anyone in this lovely audience to match us in performance!" one of them announced, "Who among this crowd has a talent that can amaze us?"

The girl grabbed Rose's hand, and shot it up, "This woman does!" she announced. Rose felt herself pale, as the crowd turned to face her. The two acrobats approached her.

"Well, let us see then!" they said. The grabbed onto her arm, and pulled her into their performance space. Rose looked around at all of the eyes watching her. She clenched her fists, and looked at the rose in her hand.

"I..." she began to say, then stopped. She knew she could wow this crowd with ease. To many humans, gem magic was a magnificent sight. The longer she waited, the more excited the crowd became. She sighed, realizing she wouldn't be able to get out of this.

She smiled at them, and nodded, lifting up her flower into the air. She closed her eyes, as she began to concentrate the magic flowing throughout her body. The gem on her stomach began to glow. The crowd grew silent as they watched the sight happening in front of them.

She took another deep breath, and formed a pink bubble around the rose. She opened her eyes, and saw that the crowd was entranced by her magic. She raised her arms up, and the bubble began to rise above her head. It continued to float up, high above the crowd. She looked back in the audience, and winked. With a quick and fluid motion, she separated her hands. The bubble dispersed, along with the flower in it. Pink petals gently flowed down to the crowd. Her act was done.

The crowd stayed silent for a minute, before erupting into enormous applause. Rose looked back to the girl with the basket. She was cheering and clapping, looking at her with enchanted eyes.

As Rose looked at her, she remembered a little girl back in a fishing village. The girl who gave her a flower, and watched her cure Cecelia Marcel of the ice crystal. Rose realized it was the same girl.

Gardelle.

* * *

Rose and Gardelle sat at a table, both picking at a loaf of honeybread. In the distance, musicians played a lively song. The girl smiled at Rose.

"I'm sorry about putting you on the spot like that," she said, taking a small bite of her bread, "Its just that day, way back when...I've never seen anything more beautiful. I wanted to see it again."

Rose sighed, looking away from the girl, "My powers are nothing to be enchanted by."

"But I am," Gardelle replied. Rose looked at the girl, feeling her heart sink as she saw the look on Gardelle's face.

"I know my powers seem...extraordinary, but listen to me when I say they're a curse."

"I'd call them a miracle," Gardelle said, defiant in her fascination. Rose clenched her fists. The girl had no idea what she was talking about.

"This magic..." Rose started, taking a deep breath. She tried to figure out the best way to describe this to the girl, "you're right in the fact that it can do extraordinary things, but you must not be blinded by that. This magic has been responsible for ending countless lives."

"But you saved Mrs. Marcel with it!" Gardelle objected.

"I saved her from it," Rose corrected.

Gardelle sighed, her expression becoming dark. She looked around the festival, then gazed into Rose's eyes.

"You can feel it, can't you?" she asked, "The tension in the air."

"Tension?" Rose asked. Gardelle nodded.

"All these happy faces, they're simply masked," Gardelle continued, "Everyone is putting on a happy face, to distract themselves from the impending danger."

"What impending danger?" Rose asked.

"War," Gardelle responded simply, "You travel around. Surely you've heard the news. Soliders from the south are pillaging villages, one at a time, and people are helpless to stop them. They can only wait until they arrive."

Rose sighed. Sure enough, she had heard those rumors. Everywhere she went, she would see families migrating north, claiming to be escaping the impending danger. She had heard tales of ruthless armies burning entire towns to ashes. She had been lucky enough not to cross paths with those places.

"You could end it," Gardelle said. Rose's eyes widened. She quickly stood up.

"I can't," she shook her head, "Listen to me, Gardelle...I understand your intensions. If I could stop such horrible things from happening, I could. But I can't. My powers...it would only make things worse."

"How would you know if you haven't even tried?"

Rose slammed her hands against the table, causing Gardelle to jump.

"I've been around longer then you might think," Rose said, "I told you this before, but I'll say it again. Stay away from gems. They only make things worse, you understand?"

"So you're just going to sit back, and watch as this village burns?"

"We don't know what fate awaits it!" Rose objected, "I'm sorry, Gardelle, but I can't."

She began to walk away, no longer wanting to continue the conversation. As she strode away, she stopped, and looked back at Gardelle. The girl seemed shaken, but Rose could still see it. The look of determination in her eyes.

"Gardelle," she said. The girl looked up at her. Rose looked her straight in the eyes, "Heed my warning. Stay away from gems."

"I-"

But before Gardelle could finish her sentence, Rose had left her.

* * *

A year later, Rose found herself traveling back to Liore. However, as she approached the village, she was not met with the sent of honeybread. No, the smell was something much worse.

It was the smell of death.

As Rose approached where the village once was, she saw that it was no longer there. In its place, there lay a sea of ashes.

* * *

_Thank you SpaceWonder368 and Lindous for reviewing. I greatly appreciate it. I'm pretty content with how this chapter turned out. Hopefully you all enjoyed it!_


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